An
emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it
was time to choose his successor. Instead of
choosing one of his assistants or his children, he
decided something different.
He
called young people in the kingdom together one day.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and
choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose
one of you."
The
kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed
today, one very special seed. I want you to plant
the seed, water it and come back here one year from
today with what you have grown from this one seed.
I
will then judge the plants that you bring, and the
one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One
boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the
others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly
told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot
and planting soil, and he planted the seed and
watered it carefully.
Every
day he would water it and watch to see if it had
grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths
began to talk about their seeds and the plants that
were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed,
but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks,
five weeks
went by. Still nothing.
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By
now, others were talking about their plants but Ling
didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot.
He just
knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees
and tall plants, but he had nothing.
Ling
didn't say anything to his friends. He just kept
waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by
and all the youths of the kingdom brought their
plants to the emperor for inspection.
Ling
told his mother that he wasn't going to take an
empty pot but his Mother said he must be honest
about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach,
but he knew his Mother was right.
He
took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived,
he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the
other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and
sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many
of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry
for him and just said, "Hey nice try."
When
the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and
greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in
the back. "My, what great plants, trees and
flowers you have grown," said the emperor.
"Today, one of you will be appointed the next
emperor!"
All
of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of
the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards
to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified.
"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will
have me killed!"
When
Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied. All the
kids were laughing and making fun of him. The
emperor asked everyone to quiet down.
He
looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd,
"Behold your new emperor! His name is
Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't
even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
Then
the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave
everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed,
plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not
grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees
and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed
would not grow, you substituted another seed for the
one I gave you.
"Ling
was the only one with the courage and honesty to
bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is
the one who will be the new emperor!"
If
you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap
reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
But:
If
you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt. |
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